The present invention relates to ammunition articles and methods of making ammunition articles and, more particularly, to ammunition articles with plastic components such as cartridge casing bodies and bases, and methods of making ammunition articles with plastic components.
Plastic cartridge casings have been known for many years but have failed to provide satisfactory ammunition that could be produced in commercial quantities with sufficient safety, ballistic, and handling characteristics. The problems evidenced by all of the known methods of producing plastic or substantially plastic ammunition include the possibility of the projectile being pushed into the cartridge casing, the bullet pull being too light such that the bullet can fall out, the bullet pull being insufficient to create enough chamber pressure, the bullet pull being too great causing excessive chamber pressure, the bullet pull not being uniform from round to round, portions of the cartridge casing breaking off upon firing of the projectile causing damage or danger when subsequent rounds are fired or when the casing portions themselves become projectiles, and expense due to manufacturing techniques or multiple material constructions. In the manufacture of blanks using plastic cartridge cases, similar problems to those those present with prior art cartridge cases for conventional ammunition exist, as well as problems associated with portions of the cartridge cases breaking off and becoming dangerous, high velocity plastic projectiles.
Certain of the foregoing problems are addressed in European Patent Application 0 131 863, which discloses a plastic cartridge casing that is provided with a ring or a plurality of rings or with a pronounced radially inward taper to engage corresponding surfaces on the bullet so that the bullet may be snapped into the casing. However, the technique of forming a cartridge casing and then snapping a bullet into the casing is time consuming in that it involves multiple steps, is manpower and equipment intensive in that different equipment is necessary to perform various tasks in the manufacturing process, and still risks a less than perfect fit between bullet and casing in that the casings are not custom fit to each bullet. It is desirable to provide ammunition articles having plastic cartridge casing bodies, cartridge casings with plastic cartridge casing bodies, and plastic cartridge casing bodies that ensure a high-quality fit between the plastic cartridge casing body and the projectile, and methods of manufacture for such articles that are simple and require minimal manpower and equipment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an ammunition article is provided, the ammunition article including a molded plastic cartridge casing body having a first end and a second end, and a projectile attached to the first end of the cartridge casing body. The cartridge casing body is molded around at least a portion of the projectile.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an ammunition article is provided, the ammunition article including a cartridge casing body having a first end and a second end, a projectile attached to the first end of the cartridge casing body, and a single piece, molded plastic base, the base being attached to the second end of the cartridge casing body.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an ammunition article is provided, the ammunition article including a molded plastic cartridge case body having a closed front end and a second end.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an ammunition article is provided, the ammunition article including a molded plastic cartridge case body, the cartridge case body including a web dividing an internal volume of the body to define a lower cavity for receiving a propellant and an upper cavity for receiving a projectile, the web including an upwardly extending prong for being received in a corresponding recess in a base of the projectile to fasten the body to the projectile.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of making an ammunition article includes the steps of molding plastic around at least a portion of a projectile to form a plastic cartridge casing body having a first end to which the projectile is attached and a second end.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of making an ammunition article includes the steps of molding plastic to form a single piece, molded plastic base, and attaching the base to an end of a cartridge casing body.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of making an ammunition article includes the steps of molding plastic around a core pull to form a molded plastic cartridge case body having a closed front end and a second end, and removing the core pull from the cartridge casing body.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of making an ammunition article includes the steps of molding plastic to form a molded plastic cartridge case body, the cartridge case body including a web dividing an internal volume of the body to define a lower cavity for receiving a propellant and an upper cavity for receiving a projectile, the web including an upwardly extending prong, and causing the upwardly extending prong to be received in a corresponding recess in a base of the projectile to fasten the body to the projectile.